Leaderboard

I got this from a friend who got this from the famous Patrick, who was the Heritage New York representative until he died unexpectedly a little more than five years ago. This is one of the first ghost built D'Angelicos that Heritage made. JP Moats, Marv Lamb and likely Aaron Cowles built this. Aaron built the two Gibson ghost built D'Angelicos a few years earlier. The all worked to copy the D'Angelico originals as best they could and had Johnny Smith's D'Angelico to examine for this purpose. D'Angelico did not make every guitar in a model the same. They were custom built. But here are the specs on this guitar. Depth 3 3/8", width 17", nut 1 11/16", scale 25.5". It is cross braced. You can see how the braces are tapered and how thin the top is. The plates are also tuned. I'd call it a medium neck. The pickup is a Kent Armstrong. This guitar has been well taken care of. It must be thirty years old now. It plays very well.

Hello my friends. Long time lurker, infrequent poster here. It's a winter-dark overcast day here but the hearthside vibes and spirits are good. I have a couple new friends here; If you've visited the Marketplace forum recently you will have no doubt noticed postings by Dr. Guitar, aka Marty Grass. I have managed to land a couple of beautiful K-zoo objets d'art. A H-555 built by Heritage for Vince Lewis, and an H-150 loaded with SD p rails. If I could bottle the joy of anticipation with the even greater joys of enjoying these beauties, well that would truly be somethin. Along with a stunning Sweet 16, also landed from Marty Grass, and a Gibbons 175-ish by the wonderful Pete Moreno (thank you Fernando), my Kalamazoo gits will keep me warm no matter how dark the winter. While I'm at it, Happy Holidays to all the wonderful boys and girls at HOC. Best always...

I'm a lawyer...retired. This is a pretty complicated litigation but in my opinion this is what is happening based upon my review of Judge Jarbou's recent opinion; in 1991 H and G entered into a confidential settlement agreement. Between 2015-2020 G sent H some "cease and desist" letters claiming that H was in violation of the 1991 agreement. H and G apparently could not agree on the disposition of the issues raised in the letters so H filed a complaint in federal court (a declaratory judgment action) seeking the court's judgement on whether or not it violated the 1991 agreement. In 2021 the Court allowed H to file a second amended complaint adding four claims against G basically accusing G of trying to establish a monopoly. In response G filed a partial Motion to Dismiss the four additional claims in H's Second Amended Complaint. The Court's recent opinion is a decision on G's Motion To Dismiss. It is only an opinion on the Motion To Dismiss and not the whole case. The Judge is only deciding if H's complaint includes sufficient factual allegations to proceed. The Judge is not determining the truth of the allegations just if they are sufficient. The Judge agreed with H and denied G's Motion to dismiss H Second Amended Complaint. The Judge decided that H's factual allegations were sufficient. Not that they are true just that they are sufficient. Of note is that portions of the 1991 agreement are recited in the Court's opinion. I'm not sure that the terms of the agreement have every been public before. The Judge rejects G's arguments and interpretation of the 1991 settlement agreement and agrees that H's positions are possible. These are very technical legal analyses that bore most people. Bottom line the case is not over! In fact it is really just starting. H and G will be allowed to proceed with discovery (depositions and document requests etc.) and possibly a trial. Typically the parties will also explore settlement options.

Remember this from psp2 , the girl with the dirty knees. She will be getting her second graduate degree this year an mma in music performance French horn from Yale. Oh what a difference a day makes!

I've been looking for a hollowbody p90 guitar for many years, and this year thanks to a very generous gift from friends and family, I finally had the chance to buy myself a proper one. For the past ~15 years, I played one electric: a 2004 gibson les paul studio. With the release of the USA Epiphone Casino, I thought my decision was made for me. In my city there are not many of these kinds of guitars around (even low-cost import models) so it wasn't hard for me to do the tour and play all the major options. In the end it came down to this 2021 production H530 and the USA Epiphone... I couldn't get along with the Godin necks, I didn't connect with the Eastman I played, and I preferred the thinline construction of this guitar over the Guild X-175 (a great guitar by the way). I went back and forth between the two guitars (at two different stores) a few times, and I couldn't believe that for the exact same price, this guitar has such a better neck, better action and setup, less flaws in the finish, more balanced pickups (the volume difference on the Epiphone between bass and treble was not really workable) and a substantially more resonant body. And all of this with a longer neck, making it substantially easier to play the upper registers. It just felt like a flawless instrument, and I'm sure will be a companion for many many years to come (touch wood). For anyone out there wondering if Heritage is worth it, my answer is unequivocally yes: this is a finely made instrument with no discernable shortcomings. It is a far better guitar than I am guitar player. I get the feeling that, with them, your money is going to craftsmen and women who are paying attention to the details, not marketing departments and a mass production factory with output quotas.

2008.

I was searching for a H-150 in the 8.5-9 pound or less range. A friend from another forum tipped me off to a couple on sale at a local GC. Since I had to return something anyway, I took a look. They had this one and an OSB model. This one was just under 9 pounds. The OSB was just over 9 pounds. NOS 2019 floor models marked down significantly with 0% 24 month financing. Not a bad deal. I got them to throw in a setup which they reluctantly did. I was looking for a Dirty Lemon Burst since I already had a Cherry Burst, but the deal was right so I took it.

And she's done! I do wish I'd made her a little less wide... but my plan included using as much of the board as I could with minimal waste; plus it allowed room for a do-over in the event of a catastrophic error. This is something I'm correcting with the daughters cab; it's going to be much more of a tighter fit to the speaker. Speaking of using as much of the board as I could... everything except the upper panel in the back and the birch speaker baffle was made from the original board. Including the inner bracing/supports and the lower panel. Lastly... I had a pack of dress washers for the back panel screws, but had snagged the wrong size. It's a Sunday in northern Michigan, meaning it's about a 45-60 minute one-way drive to the nearest open hardware store, lol. So I'll circle back on those tomorrow. For now they are gently in place just to give the full buttoned up look. It's a 2x10 mixing a WGS Veteran and a Celestion G10; GZ34 rectifier, 2x 6P14ev power tubes, 2 12ax7's; simple volume/tone/master volume controls. Will record a sound demo sometime in the near future

I never really know what to say in these circumstances. Like I told a friend just a few days ago, "Seems the older we get, the more people we know pass away." It's sobering, in a sense, but also unavoidable. Not something to fear as it's the normal progression. Yet, still can be saddening. Ron, I've only known you since we first met at PSP I, which simultaneously seems like yesterday and not so long ago. I never met Jim, as far as I recall, but if he was anything like you, the world is diminished by his passing. It probably won't ease your burden much, but your note has prompted me, again, to pause and consider the lights that have been extinguished in my own small sphere, as well as the ones who still burn brightly. I sympathize with your loss and if there were anything I could to lighten your load, or brighten your day, know that I would give it my best effort. Hang in there, buddy. All the best to you, Jim's family and his other friends.

Here’s my 1st and only Heritage so far! My brother lives near Kalamazoo and became acquainted with Mr. Wall. My 535 was hand selected and then the custom shop label on the inside was signed by just about everyone at Heritage! It was given to me as a gift on my 60th birthday

Hi, I play "All the things you are" with my Heritage Sweet16. If you have a time, Please listen to it. Thank you.

Hello everyone, I’ve been reading and unregistered for awhile, but here I am. Love all the knowledge, wisdom, history and everything else this wonderful place has to offer. Here is my only Heritage for now. I was a strat player for a very long time, always changing/selling/experimenting with different guitars but mostly in the Fender or fender style world. For a wedding gift my wife bought me this beauty and it has been my go to guitar for everything. It is the most versatile guitar I have ever owned. One day I want a H575 or eagle classic, a sweet jazz guitar… but until that day comes all I ever record with is the 535. It’s the perfect guitar. I’m very excited to delve into all the threads of music theory and explore all the other awesome topics here. Thank you for creating this forum!

You know what they say - don't bring a plaintop to a flame fight! 😂 She's got a set of Rewind Electric '58 PAFs and NOS black beauty caps 😍

Some may recall me obsessing over what colors I wanted on my Mesa Boogie mark V. I think the blue tolex, wicker grill, brown leather, and white piping turned out great! It's a classic look, and the piping doesn't get "lost" like tan would. I've only got a few hours in, but there is just SOO MUCH in this amplifier. The manual has about 40 pages going through all the different ways to configure the amp, which is a bit more complicated than the Stiletto ACE sitting behind it, especially with respect to the many power section options, Each channel has three main options, with a switch to modify some modes on the back, in addition to the overall Variac from the power transformer. I will say that dialing in the EQ really takes a fine touch, partly due to the design, which has the EQ BEFORE the gain control, unlike a lot of amplifiers. On the up side, this allows you to really fine tune what is going in to the overdrive circuit to control the overdrive character. On the downside, it definitely allows you to make some genuinely BAD sounds, as if you have the bass set up high you get a flubby mess. They say many times in the manual: "As gain goes up bass should go down". This is definitely true for all of the "Mark" modes on channel 2 and three. The graphic EQ is honestly such an awesome tone shaping device, I don't know why more amps don't have one built in. Especially with the type of gain structure there is, being able to tweak it after the fact on the high gain channels is just awesome. They even have a "preset" mode with a depth control for that "V" shape that has been made famous over the years. Right now I'm still in the "breaking in" stage I guess. The speaker definitely is a bit more harsh / paper sounding than the same model in my used amplifiers. I'm hoping that will open up soon. I'm considering hooking up a stereo or something to the speaker and playing some music through it to help speed up the process. This amplifier has the "new" designed power and output transformers from Schumacher, which was the company that made their transformers back during the 80s and 90s. My DC-5 and Tremoverb have Schumacher iron, and I think my Maverick does too. My Stiletto ACE and Royal Atlantic have Magnetic Components / Marvel Electronics transformers, which is the company that made Classic Tone transformers and went under November 2020.

Eight long years ago I shipped a Heritage Eagle with a spruce top to a HOC member. It was my first shipping disaster. I had the guitar for about a couple of months and didn't bond. I put it on HOC. I guy in Louisiana or Alabama bought it. I knew he never had an archtop before and had talked to him about full sized archtops vs. his current solid body. He got the guitar. We communicated by phone for several days. He eventually decided he didn't want an archtop. He returned the guitar and I refunded the money. Another member wanted it. I sent it to Atlanta, as I recall. It arrived at the guy's office. The box was damaged and the neck was destroyed. FedEx came to his office, took pictures, returned the guitar to me, and paid for the damage. There were a lot of good parts, including all the hardware and the body. One of the HOC members got all of that and the case for about $400. He was smarter than me. He took it to Aaron Cowles, a true master luthier who did the tap tuning and some other high end work at Heritage. Aaron restored the guitar and likely made it much better. I retrieved a photo of Aaron with his wife from the day the guitar was presented back. May he rest in peace. His wife is still around, and I see her at Aaron's old shop that Aaron's and her son now runs. The Heritage Eagle is a good instrument and a great value.

Short history: Heritage was formed by former Gibson employees after the company left Kalamazoo. The owners were Jim Duerloo, Marv Lamb, Bill Paige, JP Moats, and Mike Korpak, who left shortly after the company started. All were in some type of management roll at the time. All had been longtime employees of Gibson that simply didn't want to move to Nashville. They bought a bunch of the equipment that Gibson did not take with them, and moved into the same building at 225 Parsons Street. This happened in 1985. Some of the owners had started with Gibson in the mid and late 50s. Ren Wall joined them, after being in various positions at Gibson. Their designs were obviously Gibson inspired, although they dipped their toes into other styles. They kept the old style of manufacturing, staying with hand building rather than having machines do most of the work. About the only real "automation" was the duplicarver that carves tops for the various guitars, although it's basically a pin router that rough carves tops one at a time. Things stayed pretty much the same until 2016. At that point, changes began to take place. JP had retired, and sadly passed in 2015. All of the owners were getting up in years. A local real estate company bought the building and purchased Heritage. Half of the company was sold to Bandlab, a company from Singapore who also owns a lot of other musically related entities. They are a larger musical instrument retailer in SE Asia. They bought Sonar after Gibson tossed it in the trashbin and built it into Bandlab recording software. They own Guitar Magazine. In the process of refurbishing the building, they moved the guitar making operation from the basement of the original building to a part of the building that Gibson had built in the 60s or 70s. (At one time Gibson basically owned the entire block). There was an incident with some longtime employees, some were let go, and others left in protest. I won't go into the issues, as I wasn't party to any of it. Suffice to say, new employees were hired. They brought in some good people to manage the operation, while keeping the original owners. Marv and Bill have since retired. The last I heard, Jim was still coming in, but it's important to realize that these guys are getting into their 70s and 80s. Pete Farmer, who had worked for Heritage previously was brought in to oversee manufacturing. Edwin Wilson was brought on board from Gibson's custom shop. In relocating to the newer part of the building, the company kept the process and old equipment, but updated the area in a lot of ways, especially in safety. An extensive dust collection system was built, a new sealed spray booth was built to minimize dust contamination of the finish and keep the employees from breathing toxic fumes. A premium was put on consistently high quality, which had varied some over the years. They are still hand made, but all reports are that the quality is much improved. They contracted the product line to concentrate on the better sellers, H150, 530, 535, 575 and Eagle. The 137 was in the line until this past year. Bandlab also owns Harmony Guitars which are built in the same building, but have CNC cut bodies and necks and then assembled. I think the company is stronger than it has been in years, but at the expense of the almost family atmosphere of the original company. That's not a bad thing. Had the company not been sold, I'm sure the next step would have been to close the doors.

When the new group bought out the original Heritage they dumped a lot of their smaller dealers. That caused some hard feelings. I understand that. It isn't the same company these days. I can appreciate that they are building some very nice guitars now. I am glad they are. I think there is a band wagon going through that has a sign that says the new Heritage Guitar company build better guitars than the old group. I will not be riding on that wagon. Three of my friends and I have 10 Heritage Guitars between us. A 550, 3 150s, 3 535s, a 475 and two 137s. Only one of these was built after the old guys left. Buy used young man. A original Heritage will be a fantastic guitar.

Hello all, I’m new here! In real life two of my favorite things are coffee and guitar. I just recently bought a custom core h-150 in dirty lemon burst… I posted some pics in another thread, here’s one of the pics of from my NGD lol

It was terrifying, lol. Practicing with the pine was just zip-zip-zip without a care in the world; but it took multiple deep breaths and pauses before making the first cut in the maple. My hand was cramping before the end of the first board from gripping so hard. I did intentionally increase my cab dimensions a bit to leave room for a do-over in the event of a catastrophic error; but while there was certainly room for improvement, content enough with the outcome to not warrant such actions. It was the difference between going 2x10 or 1x12; it will remain a 2x10. Spent most of my free time today trimming, drilling holes, sanding, sanding, sanding, hit with the round over bit, internal support pieces cut and placed, sanding, sanding, and then more sanding. In between a few of those sanding coats I hit it with a water based dye. Final sanding tomorrow, then start in on the finish.

Well, I'm back in the Heritage Tribe. The deal to buy the black H150 Standard I mentioned a few months ago, fell through (I couldn't quite swing the funds to pay for the rest of the balance to take the guitar off of layaway), but I recently decided that I have too many guitars (I live in an apartment, and space is at a premium), so I decided to downsize my inventory, and replace what were 3 nice electrics, with one really nice electric. Combined with having additional funds compared to what I had several months ago, my thoughts went back to getting the black H150 I almost bought several months ago (Cream City Music still had it in their inventory), but I realized I've always been kind of "meh" when it comes to Les Pauls. I really didn't want another H-535, like I had a back in 2019 & 2020, but I noticed that Cream City Music, had a H530 listed on their website. I like P90s, and I will ALWAYS have a soft spot for hollowbody guitars, so, I paid ye olde guitar shop a visit after work on Thursday. he H-530 sounded great both clean and dirty, and playing it confirmed that the neck (which I'd managed to find what dimensions for online before I tried the guitar out), while not a baseball bat in thickness, was still a Medium C, and had enough heft to it, to keep my fretting hand happy. So, I bought the guitar, and on Friday bought the 3 guitars I wanted to get rid of, for trading towards the H-530, traded them in, and paid the difference, becoming the owner of a new, 2021 or 2022, black H-530. 😀 The guitar is in the shop at the present time, getting refretted with Jescar EVO hypoallergenic fretwire (I have a severe allergy to nickel), and Ernie Ball Cobalts (my electric guitar string of choice, due to them being hypoallergenic), will go in the '530. I also e-mailed Heritage, to find out what the model/part numbers are for the hardware. Heritage (like Gibson and Fender) seems to be one of the fans of "nickel for the vintage tonez", so at least the bridge (where I typically rest my hand when playing), and the buttons on the tuners, will have to be replaced, with their chrome plated equivalents (yay screwed up immune system! 😒). Keep On Playing! - Ellen A Photo of My H-530

Not over the top flames, but enough flame for this lefty. 2003 H535

Here's my 535

I've posted this pic before, but what the hey: an amp tech I have much respect for once told me about Heritage guitars, and that he regretting selling one he owned because it was such a great instrument. So when I eventually came across a used one in another shop, I made sure to check it out! Sure enough, it was a knockout! So it was & still is my #1. I put Wolfetone Legends in soon after I got it. Plus a set of Pigtail steel tailpiece studs/bolts, and an aluminium tailpiece. And an ABR-1 style bridge. At one point I put a hifalootin' LP wiring pots+harness in, but after a while I swapped back the original pots & wiring, as I preferred it. Somehow a couple saddles got flipped around! Next time I change strings I might fix them. But it works fine.

Picked up a 1993 Heritage H-150 in good condition from Facebook. I want to swap the gold hardware for aluminum nickel hardware to reduce the weight. I also don't like gold hardware. This one is only 9 pounds to begin with. I has a set of Seymour Duncan 59's. I'll replace them with a set of Wolfetone Marshallheads that I have. Fairly chunky neck. Nice instrument. I also bought a tripod so my pics will be clearer. Bear with me while I learn how to properly use it.

I have crossed that line many a times. Having 6 Heritages built from 2006 through 2013, on all I have replace with RS pots and caps. Faber bridges and inserts on the Prospect, H150 and Millie. Stoptails were all upgraded as was the bridge on my 575. Factory bridges, pots and caps were purchased in bulk and neither Gibson or Heritage went for premium grade. Most players were OK or upgraded them. Are you "most players?" This is not like adding truck nuts under the rear license plates, if it plays and sounds better, it IS better.

The Z Wreck Jr and Heritage H-150 getting a little air on a beautiful day! What a great combo!

2021 Artisan Aged H150 factory Special used but like new !!! Incredible guitar.

Yep....it's Friday!

This must have been in 2009 or so.

Here is the proof!

This is the best I can do.... .

Late Friday night Flamey H-150...w/Korina body/neck.

I'll play

My submissions.

Damn that's ugly! What's up with all the scratches? I sanded both pieces clean and glued the crack in the bridge and then glued them back together. Two of Marv's

"The reports of my stock status have been greatly exaggerated"... is what this amp would say if it could talk. Of course, might have helped if google hadn't sent the shipping confirmation email to the promotional folder. Was expecting a lengthy wait, so was quite surprised when UPS showed up with it earlier today. Not anywhere near as cool as T-Bone's new Mesa day; but seems to be a very fun and versatile amp none-the-less. In 10 watt mode with master turned down, it manages some surprisingly excellent bedroom level tones; even on the dirty channel. That experience alone already makes this an instant new favorite. Seems to fairly easily cover a range from super clean vox'ish chime all the way to some dark metal'ish crunch. Turned up, even on 10 watt mode it seems like it's capable of removing nick-knacks from shelves.

After a long Journey with PRS, Music Man, Fender and many more, I’ve realized the the sound and few I’m looking for is this one. This is the most resonant guitar I’ve ever played, the build quality is rock solid and it just sounds like pure rock n roll. The clean sounds are warm and beautiful in all positions. Their attention to detail in the guitar and the case is great.

Is the mahogany on an 8 lb guitar the same wood as one on an 11 lb guitar? The densities are dissimilar obviously, so are they even the same sort of guitar? I'll stir up some controversy. The first is the question as to why mahogany was used for the Gibson then Heritage solid bodies. Mahogany was an established tonewood for acoustic instruments, which makes sense. But why use it as a large slab for a body? I can't answer that fully but at least in part it had to do with furniture manufacturing, which was a big industry in Michigan in the last century. Mahogany was plentiful, relatively cheap, durable, and didn't fragment and splinter much when shaped. Those who argue that it was chosen for tone have to consider that there is really no history of Gibson experimenting much with other woods with the exception of the maple cap. Korina is fairly similar to mahogany in properties and never was a serious contender to displace mahogany as the default building material. http://legacy.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/korinawoodmakesgreatguitar.aspx Gibson mahogany tended to be lighter in the 1950s. I don't know why that worked out that way. It could be the abundance of old growth, longer drying, harvesting from different regions, decreased shipping costs, or company preference for other reasons. As time went on, the weight tended to increase. Weight relief was a solution in part. Even in light guitars, like the Tele and the PRS SE 245, weight relief gained traction. The early Heritage H-150s often were about 10 lbs. Some claimed that extra heft enhanced sustain and created "tone monsters". That term obviously means different things to different people. The original concept of the LP was a maple cap presumably to give high density for brightness and sustain when placed on the current source of mahogany that was lower density back then. More recently commercial mahogany is available with density similar to maple. That raises the question as to whether the maple cap is now more of a tradition or for appearance. https://www.easycalculation.com/other/wood-density-chart.php One thing for sure is that lighter mahogany weighs less! It is easier on the shoulders and backs. Curiously, the LP Customs and some of the H-157s had no maple cap but had solid finishes. That suggests the maple cap was at least in part for appearance. I am very familiar with the book Beauty of the Burst and the extensive discussions on wood harmonics and choices. Even if those discussions were true, there is less relevance today because the signal chain is very different in the 21st century. Consider Fender for a moment. They used and use lighter wood and have an overall lighter guitar. Some say their popularity is due to a lower cost, which there is clearly merit to that. But it doesn't explain why Gibson couldn't compete with Fender with the Melody Maker and Les Paul Jr. back in the 1960s. Further, it can't account for the widespread use of Fenders among professionals, including in the fields of blues and rock. Here is a clip of Fender and Heritage. I personally like the sound of the Heritage better. But look at the audience. Is there a single disappointed face when Frankie plays the Fender? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFtdEkG_OoI Can the wood be too light? I was warned not to buy a G&L made of empress (paulownia) because of the low density and potential for screws to strip out. I got it anyway. It is very light, under 7 lbs. It has good sustain and seems durable. No regrets. To summarize, solid body guitar players tend to like less heft to their guitars, which is understandable. They draw the line in many cases against weight relief but embrace low density to achieve lightness. Contrary to this summation is that thin necks are not uniformly embraced, so the added weight of a heavier neck is acceptable. Finally, the infinite possibilities of the signal chain won't offset the loss of "tone" in a guitar of improper density. As I have discussions with engineers about the history of the structuring of electric guitars, it takes little time for them to ask enough questions to reach the conclusion that the tonequest is beyond physics and math and enters into the realm of aspirations, symbolisms, and intuitive beliefs. It is in this realm where passion stirs. On a personal note, I have H-150/157s ranging from less than 8.5 lbs up to over 11 lbs. All of them are excellent. It is a buyer's market for the heavier guitars. The market does change. Consider that Gibson couldn't sell LPs at the beginning. Those same instruments are going for huge sums now. The original PAFs were literally taken to the dump in large numbers in the 1960s to make room for the latest and greatest pickups. Back when I would do three hour gigs, quite a while ago, I used a weight relieved guitar, a semi-hollow. No one would have ever thought that was bad guitar despite its overall low density. That would never entered the realm of possibility of discussion. That was a different time. I apologize if any of this content is unsettling. I try to reflect the overlap of practical industry and marketing decisions at Gibson, and by consequence Heritage, with those instrument designers who did pursue tone as well as other aesthetics. The result wasn't the epitome of elegance (note the acrylic fretboard inlays), but was an excellent instrument that was reachable in cost to a large enough to be financially viable. Even with these compromises there were some failures among the many successes.

NGD! It's a 2021 Heritage H-535! Not a lot of flame on this one, but I really don't mind. I bought a set of Lollar Imperials for it, but honestly, the stock Duncan 59's sound really nice.

On this forum, I always felt uncomfortable saying what I did about the quality flaws of the older guitars, but there is NO doubt to me, that Heritage is building the best guitars they have since I've known of the company. Yes, some of the older ones are killer, especially some of the custom jobs I've seen, like Pressure, MartyGrass, Yoslate, and Kuz have commissioned, but I've seen many of the older ones sold in stores with some terrible nut slotting, fret filing and monkey soldering, etc. My friend Eric was a Heritage dealer and he carried all the standard models, so I played many of them from the so called golden years (preBandLab), and many people that bought them had problems with them. I had to do extensive work on all 3 of my older Heritage H150s to get them where I wanted them, but they all turned out killer. I had to replace the nut and do fret dressing on all of them. I sold one because it was ridiculously heavy, but the other two I've kept for good reason. When I first started getting into Heritages you could find a good H150 for around $1000 and then go to work on it, so the old ones were a bargain, especially if you could find one with a weight and finish that you liked. And then for a few hundred dollars more, you could get, new wiring, pickups, and hardware, etc, and you had a seriously good sounding guitar. My older 2006 H150 smokes!!! I bought it for $1200 and then put about $500 more into it so was a SERIOUS bargain! But many of the new guard H150's and H530's that I've played, were turn key, and were both good sounding and playable with no modding at all. I think the company is building some great guitars, and although more expensive, are still reasonably priced. Yes I know many of you guys are pissed about the way bandlab took over, but I don't care what they did, as long as they build good guitars and provide good customer service now. I have been looking at custom cores but waiting till I find exactly what I want. It's a new company better to start fresh.

Long before there was a HOC, I went through a Brentston-esque phase of buying and selling guitars. And I mean a lot of guitars (hence Brentston-esque). I bought a shit ton few (hi, hon!) keyboards with just the profits I made flipping guitars. When one of our younger sons was still in a crib, my wife was complaining to me she couldn't manage to put the mattress down lower and said son was able to climb out of his gayly painted prison. She eventually realized the issue wasn't the construction of the crib, but the guitar cases I had hidden under it (and forgotten about) that were preventing the desired operation from succeeding. This led to a less-than-fun discussion, but I digress. Across all of those guitars that passed through my hands, not once did I ever think, "boy, this thing sure is heavy!" or "wow, this sounds fantastic for how light it is!" The ones I gelled with (I suppose some might say "bonded with") stuck around. The ones that didn't, well, I flipped them to fund other guitars (and keyboards and fun stuff). There are a few guitars I moved on that I wish I had back (<cough>Tonesucker(tm)</cough>) and a few that I foolishly moved out that I did get back (most famously, a Hamer Studio FM wrap-tail that...well, never mind, long story). At no time, however, did weight alone ever figure in to the calculus. I am sometimes amused when I read posts--here and elsewhere--of people saying "I absolutely will not consider a guitar that weighs more than <x> pounds!" What if it was the sonic equivalent of the second coming of <insert your own personal messiah here>? You wouldn't at least ponder the possibility? What if it also had a neck to die for? Still no? Fretwork that was sublime? Not worth considering, eh? An oddity in the wiring that allowed you to get exactly *that* tone you hear in your head? Nope, weighs too much, hard pass, I guess. The way I view it, any particular guitar should be evaluated as the sum total of the parts (or metrics), not on any one factor alone. But, well, that's me. And I'm a little odd. So, there's that.

While I so much enjoy speculation on this topic, wisdom tells me to be suspect as to the motives and findings of engineers some 70 years ago as their memories and stories differ over the years. Most likely 99% of HOC members have zero experience BUILDING G type guitars. Legend is protypes were assembled in various thickness of mahogany and maple to balance sustain and brightness or sweetness. What I absolutely remember is from 2013 is a discussion with Marv and Jim on my 147 build. They started building LPs 5 years after the prototypes, but they combined to over 100 years experience building LP style. The 147 is a little smaller and thinner than a 150. I wanted a maple cap. My 137 is korina which according to Forum Lore, brings out the sparkle from P90. Since my 147 was to have a P90 bridge pickup I wanted a korina body which (I was told) is also lighter the mahogany. Marv lead me to one to their lumber storage rooms and we/he picked out their lightest korina board and sawed off a slice for the body and presented me with a piece/sample. Marv and Jim asked me how thick I wanted the korina? Both said the thicker instrument would be better (sustain?) I agreed with "thicker" as both founders were know to have disagreements on several aspects of "sound". They never mentioned how thick the maple should be or the carve. Some 5 months latter I picked up my tuxedo staple 147. I miss those days and suspect a lot of HOC members do as well.

My opinion is that Heritage has made great guitars since their inception. But they also had some lemons. That meant that the buyer needed to evaluate the individual instrument. The HOC was very helpful in that regard, at least in the used market. Members provided reliable opinions to guide purchasing. The new Heritage has better consistency but a narrower set of choices. Nothing wrong with that. Here are some of the unusual builds from the earlier years that show off the old guys' versatility and quality. Their reputation was primarily by word of mouth back then, some of it good and some not.